It's Broken, Kepler

Channel Hopper

Channel Hopper

Suffering fools, so you don't have to.
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A little less analogue, and a lot more crap.
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Not bad for the time it has been working though, and plenty left in the database to look through.


The prolific Kepler space telescope has had to give up its prime planet-hunting mission after engineers failed to find a fix for its hobbled pointing system.


The observatory lost the second of its four reaction wheels in May, meaning it can no longer hold completely steady as it looks towards the stars.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23724344
 
That's a really Sad loss imo ..
Kepler has certainly proved it's worth so far.
so sad..
 
And some 20 months after Kepler was switched off, the data recorded provides still more chances of Class M planets and potential life elsewhere.

Kepler 440b.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-440b

Kepler 442b

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-442b

and Kepler 438b

And researchers say the most Earth-like of the new arrivals, known as Kepler 438b, is probably even more similar to our home than Kepler 186f - which previously looked to be our most likely twin.

At 12% larger than Earth, the new claimant is bigger than 186f but it is closer to our temperature, probably receiving just 40% more heat from its sun than we do from ours.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30705517


Three have however been removed from the list following further investigation.

HD 85512 b was initially found to be potentially habitable,[10][11] but updated models for the boundaries of the habitable zone placed the planet interior to the HZ,[12][13] and it is now considered non-habitable.[8] Kepler-69c has gone through a similar process; though initially believed to be potentially habitable,[14] it was quickly realized that the planet is more likely to be similar to Venus,[15] and is thus no longer considered habitable.[8]


Similarly, Tau Ceti f was initially considered potentially habitable,[16] but the improved model of the circumstellar habitable zone places the planet exterior to the outer limits of habitability, so it is now considered non-habitable.[8]
 
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'Ancient' solar system discovered.

Studying data from the Kepler telescope, the team, led by the University of Birmingham, found a star orbited by five planets similar in size to Earth.

The system, 117 light-years away, is the oldest known of its kind, formed 11.2 billion years ago

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-31002598
 
We (Earth) are only but a speck of dust in the universe which is our front room carpet.
 
cant we just stay where we are?, who cares if we need to get out in 100 years!
 
John Pykett said:
cant we just stay where we are?, who cares if we need to get out in 100 years!
Click to expand...

Since the planet is gaining mass, and the natural resources are being squandered, in a few hundred years it might be impossible to 'get out'.

The dinosaurs had the right idea, building rockets en-masse and disappearing out of the solar system some 60 million years ago.
 
Channel Hopper said:
Since the planet is gaining mass, and the natural resources are being squandered, in a few hundred years it might be impossible to 'get out'.

The dinosaurs had the right idea, building rockets en-masse and disappearing out of the solar system some 60 million years ago.
Click to expand...
But some got left behind and got into Government.
 
A similar system to ours. 2500 light years away, ignoring Pluto though.

Kepler-90 - Wikipedia

Intreresting not just for the similarity, nor how far away it is,but how Google has been used to photoshop, sorry find the latest rock.
 
R.I.P. Kepler.
 
Sorry, no gas stations up there.
 
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